We're a Little Bit Pagan . . .

Did y’all ever think about how WEIRD Christmas is? I don’t mean what we are celebrating, of course–I know you know that. Maybe what I really should be asking is did y’all ever think about how weird communal traditions are in general, or if weird isn’t the right word, how . . . PRIMITIVE.
I mean, look how we all go kind of crazy this time of year, and all the wacky (if you really think about it) things we do! Chopping down trees and bringing them inside our houses and decorating them. Festooning our homes with lights inside and out. Singing certain songs. Eating certain foods. And more or less all of us, no matter how different we are, observing very similar customs.
And we all take it so seriously, too. It’s not the kind of thing most of us would ever opt out of. It’s like, I don’t know, we are afraid the sun won’t return and the days won’t grow longer again if we don’t do these things. 🙂
I’ve always said it was an awesomely strategic PR move on the part of the Church to co-opt the trappings of the primitive pagan festivals for use in religious celebrations. You catch more flies with honey than with vinegar, right? And I wonder, if things hadn’t happened that way, if the Church had instead forbidden people to engage in the old ways at all, what would have risen up in their place.
Because there has to be something inside of us, don’t you think, something more than mere custom or habit, that NEEDS these kind of communal celebrations? Surely they could not continue, could not mean so much, seem so crucial, if there wasn’t more to it than that?

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0 thoughts on “We're a Little Bit Pagan . . .”

Your home is lovely. I love these traditions…in fact I think I NEED them to sustain me. I’m in year four of a theological course through the Episcopal church that has taught me so much about how pagan and other traditions have been woven into the church. Fascinating stuff!

Full disclosure: These are LAST year’s pictures. My home is a frightening undecorated mess at the moment! Some people shy away from the pagan origins of these traditions, but I think it makes them even richer. What a connection we have to people who lived so long ago!

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I feel pretty good when I read this list.~ A Grandparent’s Wisdom on Parenting ~

1. Let your child be a child. Children are not little adults.

2. Don’t have too many rules, especially when they’re little. They’re not going to remember them all anyway.

3. Pick your battles. It won’t work to make an issue out of everything your child does that you don’t like.

4. The greatest gift you can give your child besides your love is your time. Whenever possible, interrupt what you are doing to take time for them. Many things you need to do can be put off until later but many things your child does only happen once, and you don’t want to miss them.

5. Don’t micromanage your child’s behavior. It isn’t necessary (or productive in the long run) to try to control everything he or she says or does.

7. Kids get tired. When they do, it’s usually futile to try to reason with them to get them to do what you want.

8. Don’t say things to your own child that you would never dream of saying to someone else’s child.

9. Whatever stage your child is in, remember: this, too, shall pass, and they will move on to another stage. (This may be better or worse than the previous one!)

10. Don’t let mealtime become a battle zone. No child has ever starved to death yet because they didn’t eat everything on their plate.

11. Read to your child.

12. When your child starts talking, listen. What they say is important to them, and kids have great things to say.

13. Spend some time tucking your child into bed each night.

14. It’s good to find a church family to help you raise your child. You need others to support you. Your child needs to establish a good foundation of values and truth. If he or she doesn’t get this early in life, they might get it later and from someone else you may not like.

15. Take time every day to enjoy your child and relish this role God has blessed you with.

(Postscript: my dad says some of these are things he did, and some are things he wishes he’d done. ❤️) …

Timeline Photos"Rather, when you hold a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind; blessed indeed will you be because of their inability to repay you." – Luke 14 #SundayGospel bit.ly/2ZpzEtS…

"Arsonists have set God’s Cathedral aflame. In the Amazon rainforest, home to hundreds of thousands of animal species, 40,000 plant species, and nearly a million indigenous people, fires are raging, destroying the ecological buttresses of one of the most biodiverse and important ecosystems in the world. These creatures are a testament to God’s good creation, a living, breathing cathedral, shaped by the evolutionary forces of God, and entrusted to human hands." …

"Baby loss is not just a story of grief, of pain and of tears, its a beautiful story of love and of celebration.

So let’s scream from the rooftops that all children matter, those that are here and those that we desperately miss."I haven’t shared this picture for quite some time so wanted to post it again this evening. These are my children…the ones that ran ahead and the ones who I get the honour to raise.

Someone said to me in an interview recently well you are the mother of two, I kindly corrected them. I am the mother of 7, just because five of my children didn’t get to grow up on the earth, doesn’t stop them from existing.

I also wanted to say this…Baby loss is not just a story of grief, of pain and of tears, its a beautiful story of love and of celebration.

So let’s scream from the rooftops that all children matter, those that are here and those that we desperately miss. ❤️

I am so unbelievably touched that SO many people have liked and shared this image, THANK You. Please feel free to also like my page and see future posts and quotes, I would love for you to become a FB friend x